When it comes to the most loved TV show cars, the era that wins hands down is the 1960s. It’s not hard to understand why, the ‘60s was the era for the car in general, as well as some sort of high water mark for pop culture. So many TV shows from the era remain loved to this day, over half a century later.

It also happened to be the time when car culture reached new heights in the US, where customizers like George Barris and Dean Jeffries became celebrities in their own right.

It wasn’t just the incredible muscle cars of the 1960s we remember most, but also the groovy custom cars that featured on Batman, The Green Hornet, and The Munsters to name three. What a time it was, but the era of great TV show cars didn’t end there, far from it.

Thanks to The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Miami Vice and Magnum PI - the era of TV shows that featured a car prominently continued through the 1970s and ‘80s.

Then there’s the spin-off movies introducing new generations to the characters and cars of fondly remembered tv shows featured here - the Batman franchise, Starsky and Hutch, Get Smart, The Dukes of Hazzard and The Green Hornet have all been made into successful movies.

Let’s take a look back at ten of the most memorable TV cars of all time.

The Batmobile - Batman (1966-68)

Sok! Pow! Bif! Holy Toledo, Batman - surely the coolest TV car of all time is the Batmobile, driven by the caped crusaders Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward). Batman first aired in early 1966 and ran for two years and 120 episodes. In that time the show became a pop culture sensation that remains influential over half a century later.

The original Batmobile was based on a 1955 Lincoln show car. At a cool $250,000 (over $2 million today) the fighter jet-inspired twin cockpit experimental car would serve as a mobile test bench for new engineering and design concepts for the Ford Motor Company. Unlike many show cars of the era, it was fully drive-able and featured a Lincoln 368 cubic inch big block V8 and automatic transmission.

In 1959, the Futura was painted red and starred in the MGM movie It Started With A Kiss. FoMoCo later sold the car to customizer George Barris for one dollar. The car sat behind his North Hollywood shop where it deteriorated for several years.

Fast forward to 1966 when Barris was asked to design a theme car for the Batman television series – at very short notice. Not having enough time to build from scratch, Barris remembered the Futura. He hired Bill Cushenberry of famed Cushenberry Custom Shop to do bodywork modifications, and the rest is history. The Batmobile was born, and became an instant legend.

Read more about the amazing Batmobile here

1969 Dodge Charger - The Dukes Of Hazzard (1979-85)

The Dukes of Hazzard ran for 147 episodes over 7 seasons during which time something like three-hundred classic 1969 Dodge Chargers were destroyed. Called the General Lee after the South’s greatest Civil War commander, the 01 Charger had a Confederate flag painted on the roof.

The show was hard to watch for those of us who loved Chargers, but there was an upside to all that Charger-carnage. The show made the ‘69 Charger so popular that in all the years since, countless junkers have been rescued and restored. Almost certainly there are more surviving ‘69s than if the show had never existed.

When filming the trademark jumps, the stunt crew packed 500 to 1,000 pounds of sand or concrete ballast in the trunk to prevent the otherwise front-heavy Charger from nose diving. The front suspension was often raised to stop the car bottoming on the jump ramp. One jump was all it took to destroy the car.

In the final seasons the producers had trouble sourcing enough 1969 Dodge Chargers to cater for the rate of attrition.

So desperate for ‘69 Chargers were the producers, they advised all crew on the series to keep their eyes peeled for cars. If anyone spotted a 1969 Charger they were told to leave a note on the windscreen asking if the owner would consider selling.

The situation became so desperate the producers had to cold call owners of Dodge Chargers to ask what it would take for them to sell.

When a chronic lack of Chargers and Ambassadors threatened to stall shooting, producers were forced to use remote control miniatures for some stunts, and had to re-use old footage for others. Fans began to recognize old footage being recycled and were not happy about it. It felt as if the show itself was in decline so probably not a bad thing to call it a day after seven seasons.

Some 23 cars from the series are still in existence, from restored drivers to complete wrecks. A whole new generation of fans was turned onto the charms of the classic Dodge Charger when the Dukes Of Hazzard movie was released in 2005 - some twenty years after the original show had wrapped.

For more original images visit the Dodge Charger gallery

The Munster Koach - The Munsters (1964-66)

Legendary customizer George Barris of Batmobile fame was hired to design and build a car for The Munsters tv show scheduled to air in September, 1964. An instant success, the show ran for 70 episodes but was cancelled in 1966 when ratings dropped. Munster viewers had been seduced by another hit new show that first aired in 1966, a show that also featured a car by George Barris - Batman!

For the Munster Koach, Barris used a 133 inch frame with a fiberglass 1927 model T body grafted into a six-door touring roadster with three compartments (including a laboratory for Grandpa Munster and a hansom cab rumble seat for Eddie Munster)

Did you know the Munster Koach had it’s own theme song? Click here for the song and lyrics

Barris used a bored and stroked Ford Cobra 289 with Jahns high dome pistons, while Ansens Automotive engineered a Mickey Thompson ram thrust log manifold supporting ten chrome carburetors. Breathing was taken care of by an Isky cam and Bobby Barr funnel racing headers. Ansen built the posi-shift 30 inch stick with four on the floor coupled to a 4:11 rear end, while up front a dropped axle and split radius bars were held by T springs, a ZD frame with model A springs and traction master stabilizers. Mickey Thompson 11 inch racing slicks mounted on wide dumped Astro chrome spoke wheels ensured plenty of bite off the line.

The spoke wheels were finished off with knock-off hubs and walnut casket wood inserts. while direct vertical steering with an Ansen metal flaked wheel put a smile on Herman Munster’s face.

For the exterior black ‘spyder pearl’ with gold leaf trim was chosen. The interior was done in diamond tuffs and buttons with royal red velvet coffin liner. Roy Gilbreath finished off his interior work with ermine fur rugs. The interior was equipped with a Muntz stereo tape player, Sony TV, and two antique French telephones. A special Autolite electrical system was needed to make these extras operative.

A gold plated grave stone radiator and casket handle hood compartment with an ornamental gold temperature gauge added to the external appearance. For that traditional look Barris used gas side lanterns, spider web headlights, a four-way tail light and floating hand formed fenders.

Project engineers Les Tompkins and Bud Kuns finished the Munster Koach in less than 30 days at a total cost of over $18,000 - roughly $160k US in today’s money.

Read more about the Munster Koach here

Monkeemobile - The Monkees (1966-68)

There’s no mistaking the famous Monkeemobile, not with nose and tail stretched by more than a foot at either end. The Monkeemobile was still recognizably a Pontiac GTO, but a GTO on an LSD trip. Side pipes poked out from the rear of each modified front wheel arch, a supercharger burst from the hood while behind, the trunk was hollowed out to make room for a diner-style booth seat. A giant canvas top was stretched over the whole setup like an early Ford Model T. it even had a drag-style ‘chute to let viewers know this tiger was no kitten.

Pontiac executives were appalled, including an unimpressed John Z. DeLorean. They’d been told that the modifications to their hugely popular ‘image’ car would be tasteful tweaks, not this…this…monkey business! Despite their disapproval, there was no time to make changes - the Monkeemobile was a goer.

Read more about the original muscle car - Pontiac’s GTO

Two Monkeemobiles were built, one for use on the TV show and the other for touring and promotions. Both ended up on the screen. They have minor differences including the size of the Monkees band logo on the doors. Dean Jeffries was the custom car artisan who both came up with and constructed the Monkeemobile. Jeffries built some of the coolest Hollywood cars of the era, including the Black Beauty driven by Bruce Lee on The Green Hornet.

One of the Monkeemobiles had a screen career before the Monkees. General Motors was a sponsor of I Dream of Jeannie, the fantasy sitcom produced by Screen Gems/Columbia, the same studio responsible for The Monkees. GM therefore provided cars for the show, including the beautiful blue '66 GTO that had been driven by Major Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) in I Dream Of Jeannie.

MPC Models sold a 1/25 scale kit of the Monkeemobile, which proved a big hit with young fans, MPC selling more than seven million model kits.

After The Monkees tv show finished its run in 1968, one of two vehicles was purchased by famous customizer George Barris. The other car had an interesting life, most of it outside of the USA. The Monkees took the car with them on an Australian tour not long after the show ended, leaving the Monkeemobile Down Under when the tour ended. In the early 1990s the car turned up in Puerto Rico where it was being used as a hotel courtesy car. How it got from from Australia to Puerto Rico remains a mystery, but it was eventually purchased by a collector in the US where it remains to this day.

Both cars make an occasional public appearance and when they do, you can bet some in the audience will smile, point, and sing something like “There they go, rolling down the street…gettin’ the funniest looks from everyone they meet…”

 RIP Michael Nesmith who passed away whilst we were writing this article.

Check out our GTO gallery

Pontiac Firebird - The Rockford Files (1974-80)

Regarded as finest ever private detective show, The Rockford Files had two stars - actor James Garner and his Pontiac Firebird. Debuting in 1974, the show ran across six seasons and 120 episodes. Held in high regard over 40 years later, The Rockford Files is renowned not just for clever plots but also the incredible stunt work and chase sequences filmed in and around LA.

The 1974 Pontiac Firebird was part of the second generation first introduced as a 1970 ½ model that remained in production till 1981. It rode on the General Motors F-body platform and was refreshed three times during its run. Trim lines included a base model, Esprit, Formula, and the range-topping Trans-Am.

James Garner was a serious car guy, and only agreed to do the show when producers allowed him to perform his own driving stunts. Garner even chose the car for his character James Rockford, after considering numerous vehicles he ultimately went for a Denver Gold 1974 Pontiac Firebird Esprit.

Why an Esprit and not a Trans Am? Garner explained in his autobiography “Well, he would’ve liked one – it’s much sexier – but I didn’t think he could afford it. The Firebird was more of a blue-collar car, a stripped-down version of the Trans Am, with a sticker price of about $3000. And I thought it handled better than the Trans Am.”

Garner’s Esprit for the 1974 season was equipped with Pontiac’s 400 cubic inch 6.6 litre V8 and four-speed manual. After filming a few episodes the stunt team swapped the Esprit’s softer suspension for Trans-Am parts. Their reasoning had been that it would enable Garner to better perform his trademark J-turn.

“When you are going straight in reverse about 35 miles an hour,” Garner explained, “you come off the gas pedal, go hard left, and pull on the emergency brake. That locks the wheels and throws the front end around. Then you release everything, hit the gas, and off you go in the opposite direction.”

For the 1975 season Garner drove a Firebird Formula 400 with front and rear anti-roll bars, stiffer springs and shocks. The stock heavy duty suspension of the Formula proved more adept at stunt work than the softer Esprit. Garner still preferred the understated look of the Esprit, so a stock Esprit hood was swapped in place of the Formula’s twin-scoop hood, while the rear spoiler was removed and Esprit badges added.

For the final three seasons a restyled 1978 model was used - the first Firebird with quad rectangular headlights. Pontiac again restyled the Firebird for 1979 but Garner wasn’t a fan, so 1978 Firebirds were used until the series wrapped in 1980.

Visit the Tunnel Ram Pontiac Firebird gallery

1974 Ford Gran Torino - Starsky And Hutch (1974-79)

As with James Rockford’s Firebird, the famous ‘striped tomato’ 1974 Gran Torino from Starsky & Hutch became a character in its own right. The iconic series ran for five seasons from 1975 to 1979 and made stars of David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser, and the Gran Torino.

Ford’s Studio Loan Program was the lease supplier for the show’s producers who chose two 1975 351 V8 ‘Bright Red’ 2-door Gran Torinos. Both cars had a role in the pilot movie, one belonging to Starsky, the other being mistaken for Starsky’s by the villains.

The cars were custom painted (on top of the factory red paint color) with the distinctive white “vector” stripe designed by transportation coordinator George Grenier. The rear ends were lifted by air shocks and had Ansen Sprint 5-slot mag wheels added with larger rear tires. The tires were mounted so only the black side would show, thus hiding any unauthorized branding.

The original 2.75:1 axle ratio rear axle was replaced with drag racing style, super-low (high numerical) ratio for superior acceleration during stunt scenes. Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) stated, “We finally had to get a new rear end put in it so that at zero to sixty it had some pop.” With only 165hp from the stock 351, and over 4000 pounds to haul, the Gran Torino was no road rocket. We have to remember that by 1974 ail American cars had low compression unleaded engines that were well down on horsepower. The muscle car era may have been well and truly over but the red ‘74 Gran Torino is still fondly remembered today by those who grew up watching Starsky And Hutch.

Visit the Ford Torino gallery

The Black Beauty - The Green Hornet (1966-67)

The Green Hornet ran for two seasons from 1966-67 and starred Van Williams as the title character and Bruce Lee as his sidekick Kato. Dean Jeffries, of Monkeemobile fame, was given the job of creating the car for the show, and given only 30 days in which to do it. He was given two Chrysler Imperial Crown sedans with which to work his magic.

As the studio didn't provide the budget for recreating special effects in post production, the hero car’s gadgets and effects actually had to work. Jeffries had his work cut out.

The Black Beauty was based on a ‘66 Imperial Crown with the stock 440-cubic inch V8 of 350 horsepower and 480 ft-lbs of torque running through Chrysler’s Torqueflite auto. At 5.8m in length and weighing over 5000 pounds, the Imperial Crown was your typical Detroit land yacht.

Four changes were made to the car’s exterior: the greenhouse C pillar was extended 14 inches to resemble a limo, door handles replaced with electric switches, rear lights redesigned to vertically run up the trunk, while the gas tank filler was moved so that the original location in the center of the rear valance could be converted to a gun.

As for gadgets, there were plenty including a homing and tracking scanner that emerged from the trunk lid, a grease gun in the rear, smoke screen, rotating rear license plates flanked by rocket launchers and to cover its tracks The Black Beauty had brooms that would descend behind the rear wheels.

Inside there were two scanners, compartments in the C pillars that hid guns, flaps that open to allow The Green Hornet to shoot at bad guys tailing him plus, wait for it, a drafting set in the center console with protractor and compass.

After The Green Hornet show ended it’s run, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong and became an even bigger star with such legendary martial arts films as Enter The Dragon.

The Green Hornet 2011 movie starring Seth Rogan, Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz introduced a new generation of fans to the crime fighting team with a heavily modified ‘66 Imperial known as the Black Beauty.

Check out the Chrysler Imperial gallery

KITT (Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am) - Knight Rider (1982-86)

Knightrider starring David Hasselhoff was a runaway success when first aired in 1982, the original series lasting for five seasons. The modified 1982 Pontiac Firebird called KITT was designed by Michael Scheffe. The convertible and super-pursuit KITTs were designed and built by legendary west-coast custom car king George Barris.

KITT put all Bond cars to shame with its array of modifications, high tech wizardry and crime fighting gizmos:

A scan bar to see in different wavelengths
Oil slick spreader
grip tires that put out spikes
lasers cutters
bomb sniffer
infra-red tracking
architectural analysis of nearby buildings
bulletproof and bombproof shell
fireproofing
remote manipulation of ATM’s allowing our crime-fighting hero to grab ready cash
internal ATM
medical scanner
instantly tintable windows
voice-stress analyzer
chemical analyzer for avoiding DUI’s
ability for the car to hear and smell the outside environment
fingerprint scanner
ballistics analyzer
induction coil to energize objects
flame thrower.
interior oxygen supply
magnesium flares to divert random heat-seeking missiles
voice recognition
grappling hook
ski system to drive on snow
hydroplane system to drive on water
air brakes
homing device to allow the car to self-drive to you
ejection seat

KITT stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand, an improvement on TATT (Trans Am Two Thousand), which was originally suggested. The voice of KITT was recorded in a studio by actor William Daniels, better known to1990s kids as teacher Mr Feeney from Boy Meets World.

Visit the Pontiac Firebird gallery

1964 Sunbeam Tiger - Get Smart (1965-71)

Agent 86 Maxwell Smart drove many cars throughout the six year run of the hugely successful Get Smart series that first aired in 1965 and ran for 138 episodes. However only one car will be forever associated with Agent 86 - the red Sunbeam Alpine seen in the opening credits.

Described as a poor man's Cobra, the Sunbeam Tiger was the cheapest way to have a Shelby engineered, Ford V8 two-seat British convertible in the 60s. The Tiger did 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds with top speed of 120mph, and was actually the very first Bond car. That’s not 100% accurate, as the Sunbeam driven by Bond in Dr No was an Alpine, not a Tiger - the same body and all but identical visually, but with a small four-cylinder under the hood rather than a tigerish V8.

Visit the Sunbeam gallery

Max's Tiger had all the gadgets — rotating license plate, ramming bumperettes, machine gun trapdoor, smoke screen and passenger ejector seat. To fit the machine-gun under the hood, the producers switched Tiger badges onto an Alpine as there wasn’t room for both the V8 and mechanism to raise and lower the gun.

Read more about the Get Smart cars here

Chevrolet Corvette convertible - Route 66 (1960-64)

You’d have to be well into your 60s to recall this show, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include it here. Route 66 was the first tv show to feature a car as one of the stars, and when that car was an early Corvette V8 convertible, you can understand why the show appealed to young baby boomers in the millions.

Airing on Friday nights on CBS, Route 66 spanned four seasons from 1960 through 1964. The show followed the adventures of two young men played by Martin Milner and George Maharis (the latter replaced in the second half of the show's run by Glenn Corbett). Our two young heroes traversed the US in a new Corvette, stopping to help people along the way.

Production of the original show used Corvettes of varying colors, from Horizon Blue in season one, to Fawn Beige for the second and Saddle Tan for seasons ‘63 and ‘64. Each season used a Corvette from that model year, thanks to Chevrolet's product placement agreement with the show.

Visit the C1 Corvette gallery

Despite the name of the series, most episodes did not take place on the historic road, but in 25 different U.S. states, mostly on location. TV viewers were treated to episodes filmed in Carson City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Santa Fe, Reno, Tucson, Dallas and many more locales.

A long list of well known guest stars appeared on the series, including James Caan, James Coburn, Joan Crawford, Robert Duvall, David Janssen, Ben Johnson, Boris Karloff, Alan Alda, Jack Lord, Tina Louise, Lee Marvin, Walter Matthau, Darren McGavin, Leslie Nielsen and many more.

And that, folks, is our top ten TV cars. Honorable mentions go to Kookie’s T-bucket hot-rod from 77 Sunset Strip, The Saint’s Volvo P1800, The Sweeney’s S-Type Jaguar, Mr Bean’s Mini, and The Beverley Hillbillies’ 1921 Oldsmobile to name a few. Let us know if you think we left anything out, or if you have a favorite TV car not listed here. Leave your comments below, or email us directly.

Click here to go to Tunnel Ram’s Classic TV cars gallery

About the author

Raph Tripp is the owner of a 1966 Thunderbird, is a passionate classic car enthusiast and writer, and founder of TunnelRam.net. If you wish to publish this article in part or in whole, please credit Raph Tripp and tunnelram.net . This is an original Tunnel Ram production ©2022 Tunnel Ram. All images remain the property of the original copyright holders.